Reports of iPhone 4 death/undeath in India have been greatly exaggerated [Updated]

Update: It sounds as though reports of the iPhone 4's death in India may have been greatly exaggerated. Instead, we're hearing it's nothing more than the normal changes in inventory levels associated with the timing of manufacturing runs. Of course, given the pattern of Apple's yearly product cycle to date, productions runs on the iPhone 4 will no doubt slow down and stop altogether at some point. However, that again wouldn't be unique to India. Just business as usual for Apple.

Apple is reportedly winding down iPhone 4 sales in India. The iPhone 4 served as a lower cost, entry level device for India and other emerging markets where competition from cheap Android and Windows Phone is far greater than in North America. That's according to the The Times of India:

It will now pull out the product from all markets, one of its trade partners said. Another partner said the iPhone 4 had served its purpose in India: it doubled the consumer base of iPhones to more than 25 lakh people in one year. And, iPhone users generally being brand loyal, it's unlikely that these users will migrate to any other brand, the person added.

Those other markets are Brazil, China, and Indonesia — markets with huge customer bases that are just starting to ease into buying more expensive smartphones like the iPhone. Samsung currently has a nearly 40% share of the Indian market, followed by local manufacturer Micromax at 19%, and then Karbonn, Lava, and Nokia.

According to Apple's Q2 2014 conference call, the iPhone 4 accounted for a very low, single digit percentage of sales. Apple also announced an all-time record for iPhone sales in the "BRIC" countries — Brazil, Russia, India, and China — though they didn't elaborate on India's iPhone sales specifically.

In addition to the iPhone 4, the iiPhone 4s is still for sale, as is the iiPhone 5c (and the iPhone 5s, for those with wallets stuffed with more rupees).

If you're in India let us know — which iPhone models do you see the most?

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Reports of iPhone 4 death/undeath in India have been greatly exaggerated [Updated]